Roller bearing



April 1,947. A. R. sP|cAc1 I 2,418,322

ROLLER BEARING Filed March 16, 1944 /N VEA/TOR; ATT/L/O R SP/CACC/ 28 44A H/SATTORNf).

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,418,322 ROLLER BEARING Attilio R. Spicacci, Bristol, Conn., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application March 16, 1944, Serial No. 526,719

11 Claims.

This invention relates to roller bearings and comprises all of the features and aspects of novelty herein disclosed. An object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective preci- 2 broken line showing of the race ring 4A in Fig. 1.

The radius of the profile or longitudinal curvature of the roller surface is preferably the same as the radius R of the inner raceway with the sion roller bearing structure which can be manu- 5 center at the same point l6 so that the roller factured at low cost. Another object is to proand the inner raceway have a theoretical line of vide an improved method of manufacturing a contact. The radius of the roller profile could double row roller bearing so that the raceways be somewhat longer than the radius R but it will be accurately matched and interchangeable. would not be desirable to have it shorter. The Another object of the invention is to provide an 10 radius r of the outer raceway is purposely made improved separator which is capable of ecosubstantially shorter than the radius R so that nomical production and is especially adapted for there is a theoretical point of contact as at l8 spacing rollers of the concave or waisted type. with the roller profile whose center of curvature To these ends and also to improve generally of radius B would come at some point 20 at one upon devices of this character, the invention side of the center line and on a line from point consists in the various matters hereinafter del6 perpendicular to the roller axis. The smallest scribed and claimed. In its broader aspects the or waist diameter of the roller would necessarily invention is not necessarily limited to the specific lie on the line Iiibetween the points of the construction selected for illustrative purposes in 20 arrows whether the roller is symmetrical about the accompanying drawings in which that line or somewhat truncated as shown. Hav- Fig. 1 is an axial sectional view of the bearing, ing located the points I6, 20 and the tangent the separators being omitted. point ill, the radius r fixes the position of the Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of a portion of point I2 and hence line I2-I8 determines the the bearing. angle of contact at the outer raceway. Fig. 2

Fig. 3 is a diagram. shows the relative curvatures in somewhat exag- Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the separator gerated degree. of Fig. 2. Since the tangent point 18 is made to come at Fig. 5 is a sectional View of a portion of the one side of the waist diameter of the roller, there bearing illustrating the method of assembly. is a thrust load component tending to push the Fig. 6 is a sectional View of a single row bearing. roller axially towards its larger end and the load The bearing comprises an outer race ring 2, reaction is taken by a conical thrust surface 22 a pair of abutting inner race rings 4 and two on a shoulder 24 which projects inwardly from rows of rollers 6 of the waisted or hour glass the outer race ring. Between the thrust surface type which may be symmetrical or truncated, 22 and the raceway I0 is a relief groove 25. The the axes 8 of the rollers converging towards the outer end face 26 of each roller is preferably bearing axis as they approach each other. The formed as a segment o a Sphere of large d u outer raceways for the two sets of rollers are the center of the spherical surface being at a formed on one continuous curved surface I0 of distant point where the axes 8 of all the rollers revolution generated by a circular arc revolved t sect t bearing aXeS- us the S m ta about the axis of the bearing, the center of the spherical end face of each n'fi st as arc whose radius is 1- being at a point l2 in the it is not recessed, will have a single arcuate line center line of the bearing so that the generated of contact 28 with the conical shoulder as indisurface is symmetrical with respect to that cencated y th l h n r 8 in Fi Ordinarily ter line. the ends of the rollers would be centrally recessed The raceway is of each inner race ri i as a result of heading during manufacture as ingenerated by a circular arc revolved about the d c by the circular recess 29 in Figs- 2 a d bearing axis, the center of the arc whose radius is is k n advantage of to procure tw pis R being at some point 16 in the plane of the ,arated arcs of contact 28A as-shown by the right finished outer end face of the race ring. This hand roller in Fig. 3. Hence the roller will be construction enables the two inner raceways to reliably guided and kept from skewing. These be ground or otherwise generated at a single setarcuate lines are preferably located about half up, as by oscillating the race rings relatively to way between the terminal edge of the shoulder a grinding wheel- G while clamped together in 24 and the relief groove 25 and lie on a circle' reversed abutting relation as indicated by the where the conical face 22 is made tangent to the A hyperboloid of revolution can be generated by revolving a straight line around an axis, the line being skewed out of parallelism with such axis.

When making the separator, a conical ring is first punched with a series of rectangular openings 32 appreciably longer than the rollers. One side of this conical ring whose initial position is indicated in Fig. 5 by the broken lines 33-is then bent inwardly at a plane 34 corresponding to the waist diameter of the truncated rollers. Both sides of the separator make the same angle with the roller axis and that angleis selected so'that the front and rear edges 36 and 38 of t e separator pockets have line contact with the adiacent straight line elements in the hyperboloid of the ro ler surface. To make these edges conform to the circumferential curvature of the rollers and thus provide areas of contact. they may be swaged to concave sha e as by a roller which is slig tly oversize.

For.purposes of assembly the higher side of the separator is temporarily bent inwardly as indicated at 40 in Fig. 5 a few degrees beyond its final position. This is for the purpose of allowing the caged rollers 6 to pass inside of the thrust shoulder 24. The rollers are assembled in the roller o enings from the outside, each in a position indicated by the broken line 6A, and this unit is moved axially inside t e outer race ring before the inner race ring .is sl d within the circle of rollers. The high side of the separator is then expanded to its final position by suitable apparatus whereupon the inner race ring is slid in axially.

The bearing here n illustrated is a double row bearing but one half of it has the necessary ele- .ments desirable for an efficient sin le row bearing. In the case of the double row bearing, the two inner raceways are ground at one setup and so are the outer raceways and hence the raceways are matched up perfectly and economically. In the case of single row bearings, there is a similar economy in manufacture since two outer race rings of two separate bearings (or two inner race rings of separate bearings) can be clamped together and ground as one, the center of the curve in each case being in the plane of the end face of the race ring. Fig. 6 shows such a single row bearing having an outer race ring 42. an inner race ring 44, and waisted rollers 46 which in this instance are symmetr cal and provided with chamfered'ends. The broken lines show outer and inner race rings 42A and A, respectively, of a second single row bearing and indicate how the corresponding race rings may be abutted together and their raceways generated in duplicate, the center of curvature of the two outer raceways being in a common plane 48 where the thick finished ends of the race rings abut and the center of curvature of the inner race rings being in the common plane where the thick ends of those race rings abut. These abutting thick ends of the rings are previously ground fiat and are the very same faces which ultimately take thrust and locate the bearing rings in use, the outer race ring 42, for instance, engaging a thrust shoulder 50 in a housing 52 and the inner race ring 44. for instance, engaging a collar or flange 54 on a shaft. The thicker ends of the rings are the only v ends that need to be nicely finished and they serve not only to accurately locate the abuttin rings while the raceways are ground but also to accurately locate the completed bearing with respect to its mounting in use. As in Figs. 1 and 2, the rollers preferably have substantially line contact with the inner raceway and a point contact with the outer raceway, there being similar differences in the angles of contact so that the rollers are urged against the thrust shoulder. In

some instances, it may be desirable to grind two raceways while their race rings are separated by a spacer, the center of curvature of the two races then being at a common point midway between the rings.

I claim:

1. In a double row roller bearing, two rows of longitudinally concave rollers, a race ring having a single longitudinal convex surface forming raceways for both rows of rollers, said surface being generated by a circular arc revolved about a the bearing axis, the center of the are being outside of the bearing, and a pair of like abutting race rings opposed to the first mentioned race ring and each having a longitudinally convex raceway with'its center of curvature in the plane of an end face of the ring.

2. In a double row roller bearing, two rows of longitudinally profiled rollers whose axes are inclined inwardly towards each other as they approach the bearing axis, an outer race ring having a single longitudinally profiled surface forming non-spherical raceways for both rows of rollers, said surface being generated by a circular arc revolved about the bearing axis, the center of the arc being outside of the bearing, and a pair of matched and interchangeable inner race rings, the inner race rings having longitudinally profiled raceways which when the race rings are reversed end for end and placed in axial alignment have their centers at the same point.

3. In a double row roller bearing, two rows of waisted rollers whose axes are inclined inwardly towards each other as they approach the bearing axis, an outer race ring-having a single longitudinally convex surface forming a pair of raceways for the two rows of rollers, said surface being generated by a circular arc revolved about the bearing axis, a pair of matched and interchangeable inner race rings abutting against-one another and having longitudinally convex raceways, the rollers in the two rows being larger at their more remote ends, and one pair of race-. ways terminating in thrust shoulders engaging said larger ends of the rollers.

4.. In a double row roller bearing, two rows of waisted rollers whose axes are inclined inwardly towards each other as they approach the bearing axis, an outer race ring having a single longitudinally convex surface forming spaced raceways for the two rows of rollers, said surface being generated by a circular arc revolved about the bearing axis, the center of the are being outside of the bearing, and a pair of matched and interchangeable inner race rings each having a longitudinally convex raceway, the radius of curvature of each inner raceway being larger than the acrea e curved surfaces in their profiles, inner and outer non-spherical raceways' in matched pairs, each inner pair and each outer pair of raceways forming matched and mergible segments of a single surface of revolution, one pair of raceways being formed on two separate interchangeable race rings with each of said raceways having the center of curvature of the generating arc in the plane of the end face of the ring.

' 6. In a roller bearing, inner and outer race rings having raceways of longitudinally convex profile, rollers of waisted profile engaging the raceways, one end of each roller having a surface formed as the segment of a sphere whose center is in the bearing axis, and one of the race rings having a thrust shoulder with a conical surface engaging the spherical segment of each roller along an arcuate line of contact.

7. In a roller bearing, inner and outer race rings having raceways of longitudinally curved profile, rollers of longitudinally curved profile engaging the raceways, the angles of contact of the rollers at the two raceways being different to urge the rollers endwise, one end of each roller being centrally recessed with the surrounding surface formed as the segment of a sphere whose center is in the bearing axis, and one of the race rings having a thrust shoulder with a conical surface engaging the spherical segment of each roller along two arcuate lines of contact.

8. In a rollerbearing, inner and outer race rings each having a non-spherical raceway of longitudinally convex profile, rollers of waisted profile engaging the raceways and having their axes inclined-to the bearing axis, the rollers having line contact with one raceway'and point contact with the other raceway, the angle of contact at the cuterraceway being diflerent from the angle of contact at the inner raceway to create an endwise thrust on the rollers, and one race ring having near one end a projecting thrust shfiulder engaging the adjacent ends of the ro ers.

9. In a roller bearing, inner and outer race ing two side portions meeting at an angle at the waist diameter of the rollers, and each side portion having roller engaging edges extending along straight line elements in the hyperboloidal roller surface.

11. In a roller bearing, inner and outer race rings having curved raceways, rollers of waisted profile engaging the raceways and each having its peripheral surface formed substantially in the surface of a hyperboloid of revolution, a separator ring having openings to space the rollers, the separator ring having a bend in the region of the waist diameter of the rollers to form two side portions at an angle to one another, and the two side portions making substantially the same angle with the axis of the rollers in order.

to locate the roller engaging edges of each opening along straight line elements in the roller surface. I

ATTILIO R. SPICACCI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Shafer Dec. 30, 1930 Scribner May 23, 1933 Gray June 18, 1918 Herrmann Oct. 4, 1932 Annen Dec. 3, 1940 Armstrong Apr. 26, 1921 Armstrong Oct. 9, 1923 Gibbons Aug. 2, 1932 Else Nov. 19, 1929 Bhafer Aug. 25, 1925 Gibbons June 1, 1937 Oelkers et a1. Feb. 23, 1937 Bryant Dec. 31, 1940 Number 

